What Was Necessary
by Lady Bracknell
Summary: Remus is looking forward to a night off with Tonks, but fate intervenes to provide him with a desperately testing situation, his handling of which could have dire consequences for everyone involved, especially for one teenage wizard. DHera, Order cameos.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer about me not being JK Rowling and anything you recognise being hers: here.   
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**A/N: Apologies to anyone waiting for updates. Have hit a spot of RL turbulence, the details of which I won't bore you with, and have had zero writing time the past few weeks. Actually, I've had nearly zero sleeping and eating time, too, but those are the details I said I wouldn't bore you with ;). Anyway, wrote this ages ago. It's a four parter, and I hope it'll tide you over until I can get back to regularly scheduled programming. **

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The smell of damp concrete mingled with crisp, night air and swirled up to meet him as Remus appeared in the middle of a deserted industrial estate. All around were concrete blocks of buildings, square and largely unidentifiable, save for their rusty signs. The car parks that dotted the place were abandoned, and the light from the lamppost in front of him flickered, the bulb on its last legs.

His feet slapped a warning of his approach on the wet tarmac as he hurried, and at his side he heard Tonks stumble and swear under her breath. Instinctively he put out an arm to steady her, and she smiled up at him, tension mingling with gratitude.

The war had taken its toll on them. He loved her, still, more than ever, and he knew she returned the feeling, but they hadn't had a night off together in weeks, a chance to talk, to just be still as the world span out of control around them. They'd both missed it.

That's what tonight was supposed to be – their first chance in ages to not talk strategy and planning and worry, but to be them – just them – and Remus couldn't believe that ten minutes ago he'd been in Tonks' kitchen joking about how much pasta she was making, if she'd invited the whole Order and not told him, before that damn Patronus appeared and they were summoned away.

He just hoped that when all this was over, there'd be enough left of what they had been, once, that they could claw their way back, because what else were they fighting for if not the chance at a normal, happy life?

They made their way to the building they'd been summoned to. A broken sign hung above the door, jauntily declaring that _Maude Sport_ was open for business at a lopsided and rather dangerous-looking angle, and it creaked apologetically in the wind from a rust-bitten awning.

In the entrance way, in front of a red door that had probably looked jovial and inviting before the paint started to flake, Bill Weasley lurked in the shadows, the light from his wand illuminating the twisted scars on his face, a serious expression etched deep into every line and his eyes.

"Bill," Remus said, watching Tonks out of the corner of his eye turn, scan the perimeter. "What happened?"

Bill swallowed. "Moody's waiting for you inside," he said, stepping aside to let them through the door.

Remus stepped over the threshold, taking in their surroundings, and behind him he heard Tonks seal the door with a squelch.

The warehouse was no more inviting on the inside than it looked from without. It still bore all the hallmarks of what it had been before – rows of steel shelves stood to attention in neat ranks, piled with boxes which Remus thought were probably responsible for the musty, mouldy smell that assailed his nostrils, and behind them a cube of painted white concrete stood, bathed in a faint golden glow. He supposed at one point it would have been the foreman or manager's office, although he doubted it had ever had the faint glow of a dozen different barrier spells cast on it before.

That must be where they'd put him.

Snape.

Moody, Kingsley, Arthur, Hestia and Elphias stood together underneath a netball post, chattering in rambunctious whispers. Hestia and Elphias' eyes were alive, while Moody's magical one was fixed, with steely and determined resolve, on the white concrete cube of an office behind them.

As Remus approached, the group hushed; it was something he hadn't entirely got used to. He'd spent his whole life waiting to be spoken to before speaking – never speaking out of turn and sometimes not at all, and yet now, people looked to him to be the one to do the talking, and in some ways, the thinking for all of them.

"Alastor?" he said.

"Knew we'd get him sooner or later," Moody said, his good eye darting back towards the make-shift office prison.

"What happened?"

Hestia leant forward on her toes, evidently trying not to smile, and behind her, Elphias attempted a grin that was spectacularly out of place with their dingy surroundings.

"Jones and Doge were on patrol near Snape's old hideout," Moody said gruffly. "Hadn't been seen there for months, but I still keep an eye on the place and damn good job too. They'd barely Apparated when he appeared right in front of them. Always knew his arrrogance'd be his undoing. Filthy traitor," he spat.

Remus turned to Hestia and Elphias, trying not to let his mounting concern that things couldn't be how they appeared show on his face. He fixed his features into a mask of interest, in the hope of hiding the fact that his stomach was full of ice, and he was grimly glad of having not eaten. "You captured him?" he said, and they both nodded eagerly. Remus swallowed. "Did he put up much of a fight?"

"No," Hestia said, drawing herself up to her full height, the smile that had been threatening finally erupting. "I think we took him by surprise. I got him with a stunner, then Elphias got him in a bind. He didn't even have time to reach for his wand."

Hestia's face glowed with pride, but Remus couldn't share the sentiment.

Snape was far too clever, far too talented and sneaky – far too good a wizard, in short, to have been captured by Hestia and Elphias. Given that evidence, there only seemed one conclusion to be drawn: Snape had known they were there; he had allowed himself to be caught.

Remus' icy stomach flipped over.

Snape allowing himself to be captured could not be considered good news, however he looked at it, and he tried to rein in his thoughts as they threatened to race out of control. But ideas, theories, strategies, came to him in a torrent, and the more he tried to discern some element of sense in all of them to sort through the muddle, the more muddled things seemed.

A couple of ideas emerged from the quagmire, though.

Snape must have known there was a chance whichever member of the Order caught him would kill him on sight – his Death Eater friends would hardly be impressed that he'd been so easily captured – and Remus could only think of two reasons he'd take such a risk. Either he was on a mission for Voldemort to expose the Order and Harry – using himself as bait to lead the Death Eaters right to the heart of the Order – or he was still on a mission for Dumbledore and had something of vital importance to share.

He wasn't sure which was the most terrifying thought.

Remus was suddenly aware that all eyes except for Moody's magical one were on him. "Then you brought him here?" he said, keeping his voice measured. He couldn't afford to risk everyone else panicking at the thought that they may have lead Voldemort straight to them.

"Blindfolded, of course," Elphias said dismissively. "We messaged Moody immediately, and he met us here with everyone else."

Remus hummed in thought for a moment. If the Death Eaters had followed, they probably would have waited until back-up was contacted, picked off Hestia and Elphias, and then hidden in wait for the rest.

He turned to Kingsley and Mad-Eye. "You swept him for tracing and tracking spells?" he said, jerking his head at the office, and Kingsley and Moody nodded.

"He's clean," Kingsley said. "And secure."

"Right," Remus said.

He thought fast, heart pounding a warning in his blood that one wrong move here…. He tired to push the sinking feeling in his chest aside, to focus, to be rational, and reasonable, because after all, that was why Dumbledore had chosen him as his replacement in the first place.

_Think_.

_Think, Lupin, think. Don't panic, just let it come._

He tried to take one thought at a time.

Snape could have used himself as bait, but he trusted Moody and Kingsley to have done a thorough job with the security sweep and bait was no good without a hook. Furthermore, if the Death Eaters were planning an attack, he wasn't sure this was how they'd go about it –

Which left the other idea, that Snape was on some mission for Dumbledore.

Remus' heart twinged a little as he thought of that night, when Harry had broken the news, of everything that had happened: Molly and Fleur, fraught over Bill, the children, ashen faced and far too old before their time, facing up to burdens many fully-grown wizards would have shirked, and Tonks. The look of desperate longing in her eyes –

He swallowed at the thought, but it was no time to dwell on past hurts.

He'd hated Snape, that night; loathed him for taking Dumbledore – but more than that, for leaving him as a second-rate replacement in his stead. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with his role, with the thought that he held the lives of so many in his hands.

Was it really possible that Snape wasn't a traitor at all?

The question bit at him, refusing to let go, gnawing quietly on his conscience as he thought.

He'd need to speak to Snape.

He frowned as another thought occurred – so frightening a one that he had to fight to keep the horror from his features, from leeching out for all to see. Of course – he should have seen it sooner. There was a chance this _was_ a trap, but not for them – for Harry, directing their efforts in one direction so they'd take their eye off Harry.

Remus didn't wait for contradictory thoughts to rear their ugly heads – something was going on, and he didn't know quite what, but Harry's position could be in danger, and any scintilla of doubt that he was safe was enough to justify action.

He fished in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out the two-way mirror he'd been using to communicate with Harry since his departure. He raised it to his lips and whispered, "Harry?"

There was a moment of tense silence, and then Ron's face swam into view in the small, dirty mirror. "Hello?" he said, peering into the mirror and looking rather perplexed.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Harry there?"

Ron frowned for a moment as if he thought it rude Remus wasn't making small talk, and then said, "Yeah – shall I get him?"  
"If you wouldn't mind, Ron," Remus said. Fleetingly he met Arthur's eye, and offered him a nod to say that Ron looked fine. Arthur smiled briefly in relief, and then his expression turned back to one of guarded concern, which Remus had barely seen waiver in the last few months.

Remus watched as the reflection of Ron in the palm of his hand span, revealing flashes of a dark, dingy, grey stone cottage, and sleeping bags on the floor. A second later, there was a brief, muffled exchange, and Harry's bespectacled face appeared on the surface of the mirror. "Hello Harry," Remus said.

"Professor," Harry said, smiling.

"Are you all alright?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Y'know, all things considered."

"Good. Listen, Harry, something's happened – and I can't tell you quite what at the minute, but I'd like you all to Disillusion immediately – as a precaution."

Harry's eyes widened. "Is anyone – you know – er, dead?" he said, rather sheepishly, and Remus saw him jolt, briefly, as Hermione in the background whispered 'oh Harry really', just out of his view.

At the thought of the look on her face as she elbowed him in the ribs and scowled at him for his tactlessness, Remus allowed himself a small smile. "No," he said. "No-one's dead, or injured."

"Oh, ok."

Harry offered him a small smile, and Remus continued. "Once you've Disillusioned, I want you to go somewhere and wait for me. I want you to go to the place where you used to see Snuffles, ok? Do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Straight away, Harry – regardless of what you're doing. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Harry nodded again, and then Hermione did elbow him out of the way and snatched the mirror out of his hands. "We'll be there soon," she said. "And I'll cover our tracks here."

Remus smiled. He could always rely on Hermione to do the thinking for all of them. "I'll try and be as quick as I can," he said. "See you soon, you three. Take care."

Hermione offered him a nervous smile, and then disappeared. Remus tucked the mirror back into his pocket. "Was that really necessary?" Arthur said. "Not that's it's not nice to know they're all right but – I'm not sure you should have worried them – I mean it's got nothing to do with them, really, has it?"

"As I said," Remus said, in a hopefully reassuring tone, "it's just a precaution."

Arthur nodded faintly, and Remus turned back to the rest of the group. "No-one has talked to Severus yet, I take it?"

"No," Kingsley said.

"Wouldn't have wanted to waste my breath," Moody said, grinding his teeth.

"Good. I'll take it from here," Remus said. "What did you do with his wand?"

"It's secure. I have it here," Kingsley said, tapping the front of his robes. Remus held out his hand for it, and Kingsley frowned, but didn't question the request as he handed it over.

"Thank you," Remus said, tucking Snape's wand into the inside pocket of his jacket. "I'd like you to split into pairs and patrol the perimeter. I don't expect the Death Eaters to come looking for him, but you never know when they'll show a surprise flash of loyalty."

Arthur nodded and turned to leave, but Mad-Eye stared at Remus warily, and Tonks' eyes found his immediately. "You can't be serious," she said, regarding him with one hand on her hip, as she had so many times when they'd argued last year.

"She's right, Lupin," Mad-Eye said. "He's a sly fella and a traitor – I should have killed him when I had the chance, the filthy – "

"I'm perfectly serious, I'm afraid."

"Remus?" Tonks said, laying a hand on his arm. "What are you going to do?"

Remus thought about it for a moment, but really, he didn't need to, because he'd always known what he'd do in a situation like this. "What Dumbledore would have done," he said quietly.

Tonks' eyebrows leapt on her forehead in surprise. "You're not going to hear him out – you're not _actually_ going to give him a chance to explain?" she said.

Remus didn't answer. That hadn't really been what he meant, but he knew there wasn't enough time for explanations and argument. "We're not leaving you alone with him," she said, folding her arms and looking to Moody and Kingsley for support.

"Yes you are," Remus said quietly.

He met her eye, hoping that she'd see in his something to make her trust that he knew what he was doing, that he wasn't pulling rank for the sake of it.

Tonks looked from him, to Kingsley, to Moody, and then back again, and Remus regarded them all steadily, not prepared to tolerate any argument. He was beginning to have an inkling of how all this could fit together, and if he was right, he knew what he'd have to do, and he knew they couldn't be part of it.

The room bristled with dissent for a moment before dissipating as they acquiesced to his will, as he knew they would eventually. Tonks raised a questioning eyebrow at him – one last chance to back out – and when he offered her the slightest of nods, the tiniest movement at the corner of her mouth told him that she wouldn't protest any further.

"Well you heard him," Tonks said. "Patrol the perimeter."

She shot him a concerned look as she left, giving orders to Hestia and Elphias about which direction they should patrol in, while Mad-Eye told Arthur to join Bill, and said that he and Kingsley would get in the air and circle – to send up sparks if they were needed.

As the last of their footsteps retreated, the warehouse fell silent, apart from the slow drip from a leak in the corrugated ceiling that Remus hadn't noticed before.

Perhaps it had been drowned out by the beating of his heart, but now he was alone he felt steadier, somehow, and his heart stilled its pace a little.

He'd made a great many assumptions in formulating a plan about what to do, and he hoped that the old adage about it making an ass of him – or worse – wouldn't hold true.

Remus took a deep breath of stale, metallic air, focusing on what he had to do. He went over to the fortified office where Snape was being held, and opened the door, stepping through the barrier spell Moody had cast, and feeling the tell-tale tingle on his skin as he was allowed access.

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**A/N: Reviewers get a dangerous and intense mission, with a Harry Potter character of their choice to cling to ;). **


	2. Chapter 2

The office was as it had been left – bare, except for two chairs, a desk between them, a filing cabinet and a clock on the wall, below which hung a girly calendar, where a blonde with ill-advised pigtails and scanty dungarees advertised the arrival of May 1983.

Snape was blindfolded and gagged in one chair, the dark material pressing into his hair and pulling his mouth into an odd, twisted sneer, but his head was up, defiant, as Remus had always half expected it would be.

The chains Moody had _Conjured _around his torso held him firmly to the back of the chair, but his hands seemed quite relaxed at his hips, and it didn't seem as if he'd struggled.

As Remus stepped closer, Snape cocked his head like an attentive student, waiting for the lesson to begin, and Remus took out his wand, and cast a spell silently that swept through Snape with a fine violet mist.

It was a dangerous spell – a Dark spell – and he wasn't proud to know it, but was glad he did all the same, because it was for this kind of purpose that he'd sought it out at all.

It had taken him ten years to find a spell that swept a person's soul to determine their true intentions. He hadn't made a habit of using it, because there were easier ways, but when it came to Snape, he really couldn't be trusted to tell – or even think – the truth. Remus had talked to Dumbledore often, when he gave his reports on the werewolf situation, about what was necessary in a time of war, what one must be prepared to do, and he'd always known there might come a time when he'd have to use a spell like this. Truth be told, using it on Snape didn't even trouble his conscience much, because he knew there was only one person who deserved the pain it caused more.

He'd shared many qualities with Dumbledore, Remus thought, but Dumbledore had had faith in people where he, having been betrayed by someone he proudly called a friend, did not. Dumbledore would have listened – perhaps asked Snape for proof, he thought, whereas he couldn't be satisfied like that – he needed to see it for himself – irrefutable, magical evidence.

The mist changed colour – from violet to red. Some malign intent, it said.

Remus thought of another question, and sent the mist back at Snape again and again, until he was sure of the mist's report: Snape had animosity for him, the Order, and Harry – but his intentions were not malign.

With the barest movement of his wand, he removed the blindfold and gag.

Snape blinked twice as his eyes re-adjusted to the light from the bare bulb above, but didn't show any other reaction. Remus released the chains, and then crossed the room quietly and sank almost motionlessly into the chair opposite Snape.

"Severus," he said, as conversationally as he could muster, under the circumstances.

Snape flexed his hands as the chains slid away, and then brought them together on the table, fingertips impeccable lined up with one another. "I should have known they'd send you," he said.

Remus smiled convivially, leaning forward slightly in his seat and resting one elbow on the table, his wand loosely grasped in his other hand. "Who else, Severus," he said, "knows you as I do?"

"No-one," Snape said, in a tone that suggested he'd roll his eyes if he thought he'd get away with it. "Unfortunately. What did you do to me?"

Remus met his cold, black eyes unflinchingly as they narrowed in accusation. "I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable for you," he said, but he didn't wait for an answer. He suspected one wouldn't have been forthcoming anyway. "I'm assuming," Remus said, "that you have information for us."

Snape sat back a little in his chair, although Remus didn't think he'd ever seen anyone look less a picture of relaxation in the pose. "Why would you assume that?" he said slowly, drawing the words out as if daring Remus to justify his thoughts.

"You allowed yourself to be captured," Remus said evenly. "And you could have broken out of this cell in about thirty seconds, wand or not, had you have chosen to."

Snape's lip hitched into the beginnings of a surprised smirk, and he propped his elbows on the table, pressing his fingertips together harder. He regarded Remus curiously, as if he hadn't really expected him to figure it out, and had been looking forward to explaining it to him, and now was vexed about the lost opportunity.

"We can dance around it for a while, if you like, Severus," Remus said, "but I suspect delaying the inevitable will do neither of us any favours. The longer you linger here, the more suspicious your eventual escape will seem."

Remus watched as his comment earned him another cool look of appreciation from Snape. He hadn't been expecting him to figure that out, either.

For a moment, Snape eyed him cautiously, weighing him up, and then he leant forward, barely perceptibly a touch more amenable. "How do I know I can trust you?" he said, his tone as oily as ever.

"You don't, Severus," Remus said with a twisted smile. "I believe we may, at last, have found we have something in common."

Snape laced his fingers together on the desk, and, for a moment, they just stared at each other, eyes locked in a silent battle.

But Remus was nothing if not patient. The ticking from the clock on the wall didn't trouble him, and as the minutes passed, he offered Snape a pleasant smile of invitation, that he hoped said that he was prepared to sit and wait all night if he had to.

"The Dark Lord suspects that Potter is up to something," Snape said, eventually, as if every word caused him pain.

"As you yourself are no doubt aware, Severus," Remus said, smiling a little at the thought, "Harry is nearly always up to something."

Snape's jaw tightened. Even as a schoolboy and before his friends had really given him cause, Snape had loathed Remus' tolerance for mischief, trouble-making, and interference. "That as may be," he said, "but this something is, I feel, a little more _significant_ than his usual mischief making, and in light of everything, I felt it worthy of bringing to the Order's attention."

Remus knew he had to tread carefully. Snape would not have risked his life on a mere suspicion, and risk his life he surely had. But he needed to be careful. There were things Snape did not know that it would not be prudent to let any mention – or even any thought – of slip.

"I see," he said. "How has Voldemort come to this conclusion? Evidence of some kind – has someone seen Harry somewhere he shouldn't have been – or have his suspicions been aroused by some other means?"

"Some _other_ means," Snape said, raising an eyebrow.

Remus nodded. There was only one other way Voldemort could have reached those conclusions – the connection between him and Harry was somehow betraying Harry's emotions, in spite of Harry's best efforts for them not to.

"And does he suspect what this something that Harry's up to might be?" Remus said, choosing his words carefully. He needed to find a way to let Snape tip him off without having Snape openly divulge anything – vague conversations were always easier to hide in one's mind.

"Not presently," Snape said. "However, it is only a matter of time before Potter's ineptitude as a wizard and desire for the validation of fame betray him."

Remus sighed. Same old Severus. "You look at Harry and see James," he said, rubbing his jaw wearily. "It would serve you well to look a little closer."

"And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?" Snape said, sneering slightly.

"You know perfectly well. Don't feign ignorance, Severus. It doesn't suit you."

"How kind of you to say."

"I have been guilty of many things in my lifetime," Remus said, "underestimating you has not been one of them. A quality I shared with _Lily Evans_."

Snape's eyes flickered and darkened momentarily at the mention of her name.

Had Remus not been concentrating on them so fiercely, he would have missed it entirely, because as soon as the flicker appeared, it was gone – but he'd seen enough – a flash of a redhead studying in the library – to confirm what he'd always suspected. "Do not try to read me, werewolf."

"Why not?" Remus said, not bothering to try and hide the amusement in his voice. "You've been trying to read me since I stepped in here."

"Force of habit," Snape drawled, looking away and forming each word as slowly as he possibly could. "You have resisted to a level far beyond that which I remember you capable of."

Remus smiled. Coming from Snape, that was almost a compliment. "As have you," he said. Snape's eyes flicked back to his.

"Had you have asked," Snape said, "I would have opened my mind to you."

Remus waved the suggestion aside. "You would have allowed me to see only that which would be useful to you," he said. "Therefore, I did not believe it was worth asking. I will inquire, however, how you came upon this information about Voldemort's suspicions. It is not your own."

Snape ran one long, pale finger over his lips in thought, weighing up what to share, and how. "I read it in the mind of another," he said slowly.

"Which other?"

"Your old _friend,_" he said, spitting out the word as if it was the worse kind of curse. "The Dark Lord believes him pathetic and weak, and consequently trusts him with certain information those of us with more steadfast ambitions could not be trusted with."

"You read him often?"

"His mind is fascinating, if rather difficult to get into. Fragmented, I suspect, by his time in another form."

Remus drummed his fingers on the desk absentmindedly as he thought.

That was it, then – that was his message, the reason Snape had gone to so much trouble.

Voldemort suspected Harry was up to something.

The only person who knew for certain of Voldemort's suspicions was the one person they really didn't want on Harry's trail – the one person who had a convenient disguise that allowed him to practically disappear anywhere, and the one person who most needed Voldemort's protection, and ergo had the biggest incentive to find Harry and please his Lord.

_Peter. _

Remus pressed his lips together as he thought fiercely.

Harry had saved Peter's life once upon a time – Peter owed him a wizarding debt – but they couldn't put too much store in old magic, not when old magic was responsible for three seventeen year old wizards sleeping rough with only their wits and magic to keep them safe.

He nodded almost imperceptibly to Snape to show that he understood, suddenly feeling wearier than he had done in a very long while.

Wherever he went, and whatever he did, Peter continued to haunt him, and Remus was beginning to suspect that he always would.

Not for the first time, his stomach twisted with yearning, yearning for this to be someone else's burden rather than Harry's, for his friends back to help him protect Harry or die trying –

But, of course, they already had.

So now it was his turn.

With a sigh he went to get to his feet, knowing what was coming next and wanting to get it over with, but Snape didn't move. His eyes fixed on Remus', and hardened, although there was something oddly smug about his expression, too. "Wormtail fears you more than Voldemort," he said.

"So he should," Remus replied, his fingers tightening involuntarily on his wand, his voice colder than he'd anticipated.

Snape smirked. "A desire for vengeance, Lupin?" he said. "I'd have thought you were supposed to be above baser instincts like that."

"If I wasn't, you wouldn't still be sitting there."

Snape's eyelids flickered in something that could have been a contained wince, and Remus wondered if he should have said that at all. "You understand, however, what I did," Snape said quietly.

It wasn't a question.

But it didn't need to be, because Remus had let him see the very grain of an idea he'd had – that Dumbledore had powers the rest of them could only just envisage if they squinted – that just as Doge and Jones weren't up to the task of capturing a wizard like Snape unless he wanted to be captured, Snape wasn't up to the task of murdering a wizard like Dumbledore, unless….

"I do," Remus said. "However, you can not possibly expect – nor want – me to sympathise."

"Naturally."

Remus nodded, and Snape returned it, and for the first time, possibly ever, he felt they understood each other – or as much as they were ever likely to.

"You have a plan for your return?" Remus said, and Snape's top lip hitched into a rather unnatural smile.

"I did not expect you to let me go without a fight."

"I daresay you will not be disappointed, then," Remus returned. "Let's get on with it – keeping you here longer than necessary really will do neither of us any favours."

"Your little _friends_ will disagree with your decision to help me return."

"Let them."

Snape's eyebrows inched a little higher on his forehead, as if this time, he really was surprised, and perhaps just a little bit impressed. "You will need to be convincing," he said.

"As will you."

"That will not be a problem."

Remus drew Snape's wand from his inside pocket, watching as Snape's eyes fixed on it greedily. "What would you prefer?" he said.

"What would you?" he sneered.

Remus tossed Snape his wand, thinking the words _Ictus-sempra_. A jolt of red light flashed through the room, reflecting in the face of the stunned-looking clock, but Snape didn't flinch – even as the spell impacted his eyes never wavered from Remus', and they stayed locked while he clutched at his side. He wheezed a little as blood appeared through his fingers. "Underhand tactics, Lupin?" he said. "Which of your noble friends did you learn that from?"

The air crackled with animosity under the weight of Snape's vicious glare, and Remus felt something like a great slap of air smash into the side of his face. It knocked him sideways, but he retained his balance, just, clinging to the desk.

That'll swell, he thought, as ringing erupted in his ear.

_Offensio_.

Snape's chair flew back against the wall, splintering and depositing him on the ground in a scramble of flailing limbs and swirling robes. As Snape struggled to collect himself, Remus hit him with it again, smashing him back into the wall – a flurry of plaster erupted and settled into his hair, turning it from black to grey in places – but Snape needed only a moment to recover before he retaliated, bracing himself against the wall and sending red sparks across the room, toppling Remus from his chair with a forceful blast to his chest.

Remus landed awkwardly, catching his elbows and the back of his head on the ground, but he couldn't let the pain shooting through him and vague dizzied feeling stop him – Snape was getting to his feet and aiming his wand. From the ground, gritting his teeth, Remus fired through the legs of the desk.

_Ever bero._

A flurry of blue sparks in the form of an uppercut caught Snape rather off guard, and flung him back into the filing cabinet which rang out a note of protest at the contact. Remus repeated spell, delivering blow after blow (he was supposed to have had the upper hand, after all) until Snape's head lolled and he blinked at the room, giving Remus the time he needed to disentangle himself from the chair. With a pounding heart, even though he knew none of this was real – that Snape didn't mean him any harm, they were just doing what was necessary – he forced himself to stagger upright.

Snape aimed across the desk and almost lazily slit Remus' chest open. It wasn't deep – Remus had inflicted far worse on himself – but the blood seeping through his shirt looked effective and impressive.

He sent the same spell back at Snape, giving him a nasty gash across one thigh, and Snape winced, but sent back another blast of air that caught Remus in the chest and knocked him backwards into the wall, winding him viciously and crumbling the plaster behind him.

_Ico, _Remus thought, a little more vindictively than he had intended as he stepped forward and jabbed his wand in Snap's direction.

Snape stumbled backwards, clutching his shoulder as crimson blood spilled onto his hand. He glared and knocked Remus from his feet, and for a second Remus lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of the office, unable to do anything else.

After a moment, he took a breath and tried to bring the single, bare bulb above back into focus. He could hear Snape coughing on the other side of the room, and he sat up, gasping for air, and regarded him through a haze of plaster dust.

Snape wiped his bloody mouth on the back of his hand defiantly.

"Enough?" Remus said when he'd caught his breath.

Snape nodded, and Remus scrambled to his feet. "Where are we going?" he said, leaning heavily on one side of the desk and praying he had enough adrenalin to get him through what was to come.

"Spinner's End," Snape said.

"Where you were captured?" Snape nodded. "How many should I expect?"

"Probably two. Five at most."

"Generals or foot-soldiers?"

"One General," Snape sneered. "The rest, fodder."

Remus raised an eyebrow and attempted a chuckle. "I take it we'll require a big finish," he said.

"If you're up to it."

"Well neither of us is as young as we once were, Severus," Remus said, removing Moody's anti-Apparation wards, "but I find having one's life in the balance is always rather invigorating, don't you?"

Snape let out a brief snort of either derision or amusement, Remus couldn't tell which since he wasn't sure he'd ever heard one without the other before. "After you," Remus said, with a wave of his hand and a slight bow, indicating that Snape should take his le –

_Crash – _

_Thunk._

The door flew open and bounced off the wall behind it, and Tonks stood, framed in the doorway, her wand thrust out in front of her. Before Remus had time to react, a purple hex flew through the room, aimed straight at Snape's heart –

"No!" he shouted, and darted in front of it, staggering back against the desk as it impacted.

He clutched at his shoulder, all air having apparently fled his body in once. "Tonks, it's – "

He struggled to get out more words of explanation, but she ignored him, and immediately fired a coil of rope at Snape, binding him to the spot with his arms pinned to his sides. He, of course, didn't protest, but looked rather bored and irritated by her interruption. "What's going on?" she said, casting a furrowed, concerned scowl at Snape and then dashing to Remus' side when she'd surmised he posed no immediate threat.

"You always were a little – trigger happy, Nymphadora," Snape said, and Tonks glared.

"You want another gag, Snape?" she said.

Remus took an agonising deep breath, blinking as he started to see stars, but before he could gather himself enough to start to explain, Kingsley and Moody appeared in the doorway. They were still carrying brooms, wands drawn and pointing straight for Snape, and both looked more than a little perturbed by the scene in front of them – the chairs on their backs, plaster falling from the walls, dust in the air, and Snape, re-bound but not gagged or blindfolded, and not so much as a drop of contrition on his face.

Snape looked pointedly at Remus and let out a long sigh. "I think your friends have questions, Lupin," he drawled.

"First things first," Tonks said, glancing at him. "Are you all right?"

Remus massaged the place where her hex had hit him with his fingertips, encouraging blood to flow and take off the numbness, and Tonks dipped her head, meeting his eye searchingly, and not a little apologetically. "Well it smarts a bit," he said, experimentally moving his shoulder around in its joint.

"Lupin?" Moody growled. "I left that prisoner bound and gagged, and then I saw you duelling. What's the meaning of this?"

"Severus requires a convincing return – "

"Return?"

" – to the Death Eaters."

"The Death Eaters?"

Moody's good eye blinked uncomprehendingly, while the other span in its socket. Remus could tell Moody was stunned, because he only ever repeated what he said in moments of internal conflict – his two desires to follow Remus' orders as their leader and a desire to smack him round the head for being a berk waging a war behind his magically whirring eye.

"Yes," Remus said quietly.

"But, Remus – " Tonks started, at the same time as Kingsley said:

"You don't expect us to – " And Moody chimed in with a:

"Lupin, he's a traitor – "

Remus held up his hand for quiet, and then pressed on. "Severus and I have talked, and I believe he did what was necessary – " As protest threatened to erupt again, Remus held his hand higher, trying to arrest it. "Even if you don't believe that, surely none of you will dispute that if he has brought us valuable intelligence – which he has, at great personal risk – that he is of more use as a spy in the Death Eater camp than locked up at Grimmauld?"

"Lupin – "

"I'm sorry, Alastor," Remus said, "but this isn't up for debate. How we feel about what he did shouldn't cloud our judgement as regards his usefulness. Dumbledore wouldn't have let it cloud his."

Moody's jaw tensed. "How about the fact that he obviously fought with you, lad? Is that up for debate? Or is my concern for you being a bloody mess clouding my judgement?"

"We needed for it to be convincing that he only barely escaped with his life. We were about to return, make a lot of noise so the Death Eaters who are looking for Severus can find us, whereupon I barely escape with mine – "

"No you're bloody not!" Tonks shouted. "Of all the idiotic – "

She stopped mid-flow when Snape sighed. "Aurors. So quick," he said, "as always, to jump to small picture conclusions."

"Don't you dare talk to her, traitor," Moody spat.

Snape let out a sniff of dissent, but apparently decided it wasn't worth arguing and studied the crumbling plaster on the wall. "Remus?" Kingsley said. "You can't in all honesty think it's the best thing to do to return _him_ to the Death Eaters? What about what he did? Shouldn't he be punished?"

Remus sighed. He'd always known he'd have to explain all this, but he'd planned on doing so later, when the job was good and done – the seconds were ticking, and the longer they left it….

"Severus has his orders," he said, "as I have mine, and Harry his. It's possible that none of us can see the full picture as Dumbledore saw it, but for now, based on what I know, I believe it is vital that Severus return. And as convincingly as possible."

Remus waved his wand in Snape's direction, and the rope disappeared. As Moody, Kingsley and Tonks bristled as one, he met Snape's eye, willing him to read that a swift exit may well be necessary. He straightened up, making a mental note to get Tonks to tell him what spell she'd hit him with later, because it really had been most effective.

"You're not going alone," Tonks said, meeting his eye, her gaze loaded with concern.

"I am."

"It could be a trap."

He sighed a little, his fingers tightening on his wand. How he wished he could tell her he loved her – or kiss her, just in case –

"It isn't," he said, and Disapparated, hoping Snape was following hot on his heels.

* * *

**A/N: Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Reviewers this time get a sneaky peek into a HP character of their choosing's innermost thoughts…. ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

Remus appeared in a small wood, bracken crackling under his feet and a chill breeze nipping at his face. Overhead, a waning moon's light glinted on the damp leaves of the trees, and an owl hooted its protest at him scaring away its prey. Off in the distance, he could hear – or sense – he wasn't sure which, movement.

Snape appeared a few feet in front of him. "I knew your _friends_ would be an inconvenience," he spat.

"That's what friends do, Severus," Remus said. "They meddle in an effort to try and keep you from doing the things they believe aren't right for you."

Snape raised an eyebrow, his breath freezing in the cold air and forming a tiny but rather too jovial-looking cloud. For a second, Remus thought Snape was going to say what he was thinking, something about friendships not being worth the trouble they so evidently cause people – that Remus should know that better than anyone, but he changed his mind. "Ready?" Snape said.

"Always."

Snape fired a jet of red sparks into the air above them, and they both cocked their heads and listened for signs of oncoming trouble. "Of course if this _is_ a trap, I will kill you," Remus said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"You can try, werewolf."

"Oh I didn't say I'd do it tonight," Remus said, smiling and glancing significantly up at the moon.

Snape shivered, and set off through the trees at a clip. Twigs snapped beneath their feet and branches rustled as Remus followed, heading deeper and further into the copse. "Here they come," Snape whispered, his eyes flashing, and in the distance, Remus heard voices – a man and a woman. "If you get caught, I will not come to your aid."

"I'd expect nothing of the kind."

Remus' heart veritably pounded. He was beginning to wonder if acting a convincing duel in front of a bunch of Death Eaters that most certainly would not be acting was such a good idea, but he knew it was a bit late for second thoughts. Voices pierced the night air, and it was too late.

"I heard something!"

"This way!"

Whatever happened, he and Snape could both do without another lengthy battle, he thought. This needed to be short, if distinctly lacking in the sweet.

_Proicio_ Remus thought, flinging Snape backwards in the direction of the Death Eaters in a hail of bright gold sparks that couldn't fail to attract attention. Snape landed against a tree with a sickening thump and slumped forwards, staggering and barely conscious.

The Death Eaters were getting closer, every crunch of footsteps on dead leaves a little louder than the one which proceeded it. "You're outnumbered, Lupin," Snape said, rather loudly and deliberately, though his words were slurred as he fought not to give in to the unconsciousness he was apparently battling. He supported his weight on another tree as he swayed, and met Remus' eye with something that looked a little bit like gratitude, though Remus couldn't be certain, because it sat uneasily on Snape's features. "Better be a good boy and run back to the protection of your friends."

He aimed his wand, and red sparks shot at Remus, missing him entirely. Whether it was by design or Snape was really on the edge of unconsciousness, Remus couldn't say for certain, since Snape had always been a very good aim, and he certainly hadn't done him any favours with the rest of his spells.

"I'm not going anywhere without you. You'll pay for what you did," Remus said, also rather loudly, and the blackberry bushes off in the middle distance in front of him rustled, accompanied by a cacophony of shouts back and forth: 'he's over here', 'no, this way'.

He hit Snape with another spell, causing thorny vines to erupt from the ground at his feet and wind around Snape's legs.

A little theatrical, he thought, but served the purpose, and he hadn't been overly vindictive with the length of the thorns. "And you'll pay for your stupidity, werewolf," Snape said, slicing him across the shoulder in roughly the same spot Tonks had hit him earlier.

Fleetingly, Remus wondered if he knew that spot was still numb, but he didn't have time to give it a lot of thought. He bound Snape's hands with the same vine spell, thinking it was probably time to take him out of the equation, make it look like he'd nearly escaped with Snape as his prisoner once more – after all, gloating Death Eaters were less likely to question than congratulate themselves on a well-timed rescue.

His spell had not gone unnoticed, though, and two wand lights appeared through the trees, illuminating two dark-hooded people – the man and the woman he'd heard earlier, he presumed. The woman was short, with white blonde hair protruding from under her hood and a rather haughty expression that was only intensified by the silvery light from her wand. The man was tall and well-built, and for a moment Remus fought to put a name to the face. Scragg, he thought it was – or something like that.

He'd had reports on them both. They were new recruits, and whilst he was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief that they weren't more seasoned, new members were always eager to please, to prove themselves, and that could be dangerous. Offering himself up to Snape's attack at close quarters had certainly weakened him, and he wasn't certain how long he could keep up a game of cat and mouse without becoming prey for real.

The woman spotted him and sent a _stupefy _spell at him through the trees, and Scragg went straight for a _crucio_. Both missed their mark as Remus dived behind a tree, not feigning looking startled.

He pressed his back into the bark, and a hail of spells flew through the trees – leaves crunched under their feet as they advanced at a run, the woman giggling disconcertingly.

Remus bolted.

The trees were thicker up ahead – if he could just make it there, he stood a better chance. Bracken ripped at his knees as he ran, and low branches whipped at his face, his various wounds doing rather more than twinge. He fought the urge to look back, using instinct and nothing more to duck as a jet of green light flew over his head, luckily swerving to avoid a rock at the same moment a red flash exploded where he would have been had he not have seen the rock coming.

Panting, he flattened himself against another tree, knowing that they knew where he was, would be upon him in a minute –

But he knew that he had to let them think they had the upper hand – possibly even let one of them hit him with something – although obviously he'd have to pick his moment. He didn't really fancy getting _crucio_ed on top of everything he'd already been through, and accidentally letting himself get _Avada Kedavra_-d was definitely not the way he wanted to die.

The giggles intensified, and the man's footsteps slowed as they closed in on him. Remus swallowed, trying to formulate a plan – he could leap out, try and take them by surprise – let one of them hit him and then Dis –

There was a pop, and in front of him appeared one Nymphadora Tonks, wand drawn, dark eyes alert.

He started, smacking the back of his head lightly on the tree behind him.

For a moment, he didn't know quite what to say, and then words seemed inappropriate as a fresh barrage of spells blasted through the trees at the noise.

"Wotcher," Tonks said, cheerfully, as if she regularly Apparated into battle.

"What the hell are you – " he hissed, but was cut off by the _bang!_ of a spell hitting something.

"Mounting a rescue," she said, grabbing his hand and forcing him into a crouch as the tree he was leaning on erupted into flame behind him. He looked up at the tree behind him – orange flames dancing right where his head had been, and stammered nothing in particular. "Y'know, a little gratitude wouldn't go amiss," she said.

She grabbed a fistful of his sleeve and pulled him through the undergrowth – weeds flailing their way through the gap between his shoes and trousers and stinging at his ankles – towards a hefty pine they could use for cover, conjuring a shield charm over her shoulder to protect them from the flames and a couple of red-light hexes that were shot vaguely in their direction.

He darted down behind the tree, sending a couple of spells from below eye-level at the Death Eaters, which they really hadn't been expecting. They dived for cover. Tonks pressed herself into the tree next to him, peering around the curve of the trunk and out into the darkening forest. She _reducto_-ed the blackberry bush the man was hiding behind out of the way, and Remus watched as the man scrabbled on the ground to find a new hidey-hole, making for Snape's robes for cover.

"Get him, fool!" Snape hissed, making a show of struggling against the vines binding his wrists as he kicked at the man, prone on the ground near his feet.

Remus pushed himself up off the bark, meeting Tonks' eye as she flattened herself against the tree next to him. 'I don't think they know I'm here,' she mouthed, and he nodded.

More voices appeared all around them, and Remus' heart increased its pace in his chest.

There was at least one more woman, and the manic note in her voice as she issued orders told him it was probably Bellatrix Lestrange – and at least two more men, one of whom he thought might well be her husband.

He shot Tonks a worried glance – she hadn't chanced upon Bellatrix since their duel at the Ministry – but her face was set, determined and focused.

Remus peered around the fat trunk of the tree, and a man he didn't recognise was the first through the trees. His eyes were wildly scanning the ground, taking in the scene – Severus pinned to a tree in a tangle of vines, bleeding and obviously badly injured, the tell-tale sign of flattened grass and bracken leading to where Remus was obviously hiding.

Remus ducked back, but not before the man's eyes fell on him, and glinted maliciously.

Remus flattened himself back against his tree, and as a reflex he _Conjured_ a shield charm, only half-surprised when a spell bounced off it.

Of course it was his intention to appear scared and out-numbered, but for his liking, this was all playing a touch too convincingly, and when Bellatrix Lestrange appeared, striding through the trees with a manic and rather triumphant look on her face, his heart pounded faster still.

On the one hand, this was exactly what they needed to pull off a truly convincing escape, for Snape to be returned with the very minimum of suspicion. On the other, Bellatrix was just insane enough to be entirely unpredictable, which was never a good thing in a duel, as so many had found to their cost.

"Who's that hiding in the trees?" Bellatrix called, her voice a cloying, predatory tease. "Don't you want to come out and play?"

Remus turned to Tonks. 'I'll draw her out,' he mouthed. 'You, hide – '

'Take her by surprise?' Tonks mouthed back, and he nodded.

She nodded back, face set in a mask of determination, and ducked into a crouch, before scurrying away to dart behind another tree, five feet from where he was.

"I said, don't you want to come out and play?" Bellatrix said more forcefully.

Before Remus could think of a retort – or better, a hex, the tree he'd been flattened against shook, and as he backed away, turning to face his adversaries, the tree was lifted from its roots with an earth-rending noise that was halfway between a scrape and a scream, and was unceremoniously hurled into another and then dumped on the ground.

Birds fluttered away, chirping their protest, and the grass, twigs and leaves at Remus' feet rustled angrily at the disruption of the ground. He backed away, past the tree Tonks was hiding against, willing himself not to look at her and give her away, too.

All he needed was a little distance….

Bellatrix wasted no time in firing a spell at him, but it was easily deflected and felt rather weak, and as she cackled and advanced, he rather got the feeling she was toying with him, wanting to see him dart this way and that, Conjure shields and the like, cower in fear. It was what she always expected from her opponents – and, he thought glumly, he suspected that, nine times out of ten, she got it.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tonks swallow.

Was she really prepared for this?

He brushed the thought aside. Tonks was as strong as anyone he knew, and she'd proven herself time and time again – but as Bellatrix advanced with the others flanking her, waiting on her signal, he couldn't help wishing she wasn't there.

"Did you and Severus have fun?" she said, her voice cold and spiteful. "Naughty boys, bloodying each other up like that."

She shot another hex, and Remus darted, feeling it whistle past the sleeve of his robes. He shot one back – _Impedimenta_, without the slightest intention of making it hit its target. "Not very civil, is it?" she said, shooting the spell a dirty look as it sailed past, and Remus shot another one, this time a little closer, and then another. "See to him," she said, barking the order at the man Remus' didn't know and her husband with equal venom as she jerked her head in Snape's direction.

As they did as they were told, Remus saw his moment. He couldn't chance signalling Tonks, but trusted that she'd know what he was doing when the moment came, so the second Bellatrix passed where Tonks was, he stumbled backwards and landed on the ground, Conjuring a shield around himself.

Bellatrix's laughter echoed through the night as she raised her wand. "I've heard werewolves have exceptional tolerance for pain," she said, eyes narrowing and glittering. "I always did want to test the theory."

Remus made a show of attempting to scramble to his feet, more to cover the sound of Tonks moving than anything else, but Bellatrix hit him with a spell that slapped him back against the ground, and cackled maniacally. "Where's your fighting spirit now, boy?" she said, and the whole forest rang with the sound of her laughter. "Or did Severus tire you out?" Remus kept his eyes fixed on Bellatrix's, even though in his peripheral he could see Tonks approaching. "_Cruc_ –"

Tonks leapt forward and pressed the tip of her wand to Bellatrix's throat before she could finish the word. "You know, aunty," she said, pressing a little harder, "you really shouldn't laugh like that. You'll get wrinkles."

For a split second, Bellatrix's face was frozen in surprise – but only for a second.

There was a boom, and Tonks was flung back away from her aunt. She staggered, but she wasn't wrong-footed for long – at the noise of the boom the other Death Eaters had abandoned their slow stalk and set off towards them at a run, the two tending to Severus abandoning their orders and dashing towards the fray – and in the next instant the forest was alight with spells.

Remus scrambled to his feet – he caught the blonde woman with a _Stupefy_ and she fell to the ground with a thunk – but the others advanced without giving her a second glance.

They seemed to have decided to leave Tonks to Bellatrix, and headed straight for him, firing spells randomly at him that he had to weave and duck to avoid, Conjuring shield charms and feeling them reverberate and weaken under the barrage.

Bellatrix and Tonks fought closely – so closely, almost nose to nose, that he could barely keep track of their progress – he barely had time to as Scragg loomed in his periphery, making a grab for him with shovel-like hands. Remus dodged and waited – bided his time, and as Scragg made a lunge for him, caught him with a truly malicious _Ico _to the throat. Scragg reeled back, coughing up blood, but Remus barely had time to pause for breath as Rodolphus and the other man advanced, eyes glinting with delighted malevolence under their dark hoods.

"You've improved," Bellatrix shrieked, eyes glittering menacingly as she swiped at Tonks with her wand and Tonks ducked out of her way. "It's always much more fun when people are worthy of the fight – I enjoyed killing your dear cousin immensely for that very reason."

Remus felt his chest contract and something inside of him lurch, but he didn't have time to think about it as the two men advanced. He heard Tonks throw back a retort about gloating not being very becoming in a woman of Bellatrix's age, which lessened the lurch, but as a spell from Rodolphus whistled past, ruffling his hair, he felt that they'd well and truly pushed their luck enough, and started backing away, firing hexes past Tonks and Bellatrix to keep Rodolphus and the other Death Eater at bay.

"Tonks," he shouted. "It's useless – we're outnumbered."

For a second, he thought that Tonks was going to stay and finish what she'd started, but a fractional hesitation on Bellatrix's part gave Tonks a lucky break, and she caught her with some kind of intense stinging hex, and as Bellatrix reeled away in pain and surprise, she joined him.

They darted through the trees, firing enough hexes over their shoulders to keep the Death Eaters at a distance and weaved enough to hopefully make themselves tricky targets, and, feeling that they'd made enough of a show of being frightened and out-numbered, Remus Conjured a fog to disguise them, took Tonks' elbow, and Disapparated, Bellatrix's cold laughter echoing in his ears.

* * *

**A/N: Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. They're all very much appreciated. Anyone sparing a moment to let me know what they thought of this gets a woodland moonlit stroll with a HP character of their choice - duel to the death optional ;). **


	4. Chapter 4

They emerged, stumbling, on the cobbled pavement on the edge of Hogsmeade, and Tonks' eyes darted up and down the street, assessing whether they'd been seen, or followed. Remus met her eye in question, and she shook her head. His knees nearly buckled with relief, and he took a large gulp of night air, coughing as he did, and allowed himself a moment to double over, leaning on his thighs.

He seemed to be able to feel the world spinning beneath his feet, and though he had no desire to say it out loud, that had been a lot closer than he was comfortable with.

Tonks drew a breath in through her teeth, and as he looked up she ran a hand through her hair. "That was close," she said, and grinned.

"You shouldn't have followed me," he said, shaking his head in disbelief that she would put her life on the line for him.

"I did all right, didn't I?"

"That's not the point," he said, fixing her with a far steelier gaze than he felt he had the energy to muster, "and you know it."

He collapsed against the dry stone wall behind him, trying to catch his breath and slow his heart, waiting for the adrenalin to subside. He raised a hand to run it over his face, and noticed blood on it, dry and missing in patches where he'd rubbed it off. He supposed it was from one of the two cuts Severus had deftly delivered, and now the adrenalin was wearing off he could certainly feel them. The muscles in his legs ached from working against the bracken, the cut across his chest throbbed and he could feel the early prickling of a bruise on his jaw.

But none of his physical pains could hold a candle to the discomfort Tonks' gaze was causing him. "So what is the point, then?" she said tersely.

"It was a dangerous situation – too dangerous – "

"Too dangerous?" she said, eyes flashing. "You didn't seem to think it was too dangerous for you."

Remus took a deep breath, and the stones in the wall behind him dug into his back. "That's different," he said quietly.

He didn't even really know why they were arguing about this – it was obvious, wasn't it, what he meant? He didn't want her putting herself in danger for the likes of him – or at least not any more than she already had getting involved with the Order in the first place.

But the look on Tonks' face – hurt, mingled with fury – said that she couldn't have agreed less if she'd tried. "What, it was too dangerous for me, but not for you?" she said, voice pinched and angry.

Remus sighed, opening his mouth to speak, even though he didn't really have anything to say.

A moment passed, taking an ice age, as they always did when she was angry with him. The year they'd spent apart had felt like at least two decades, and he still wasn't sure he'd ever recover or feel like he hadn't aged twenty years.

Tonks turned away from him for a moment, wrapping her arms across her stomach. He heard her sigh, watched a little blue cloud form from her lips and float away, and closed his eyes in a wince. He could at least be grateful – grateful for her efforts, grateful that they'd survived when they may well not have. Whether he liked it or not, she had risked her life to help him, and he could at least be gracious about it, try to explain, perhaps, why he didn't want her doing that.

He pushed himself off the wall and stood, taking a step towards her and putting his hand lightly on her arm. At the squeeze of his fingers, she turned.

"If it had been me," she said, not letting him get out his half-formed half apology and explanation. "If I'd just Apparated myself into a situation where I'd be outnumbered – "

"Tonks – "

"Outnumbered – five to one," she said, overriding him entirely, her eyes unflinching – sympathetic to what he was saying, but defiant of it all the same. "What would you have done? Left me to my own devices, or come after me?"

"Come after you, of course – "

"Why?"

"Well, because I love you – "

"Exactly, Remus," she said. "Because you love me."

He sighed. He knew exactly where she was going with this. "It's different," he said.

"No it isn't," she said. "I'd die for you – "

He baulked at the thought. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" she said. "It's the truth. I _would_ die to protect you. I'd do anything."

"I wouldn't want you to," he said.

"Well don't worry," she said, letting out a huff of amusement, "it's not exactly on my list on things I want to do before I'm thirty."

"I mean it."

Her gaze turned serious again, but she smiled all the same. "And so do I," she said. "You'd do it for me, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," he said, "of course I would, but – "

"But what, Remus?" she said, voice just tinged with exasperation. "Your life's intrinsically worth less than mine?"

He blinked at her for a moment, uncomprehendingly. "Well, yes," he said.

"Not to me," she said.

She stepped closer, ran her fingers through the hair at his temple. "When are you going to realise that how you feel about me," she said, eyes roving his face, her expression kind, "how strong it is, how you think you'd do anything, absolutely anything to keep me safe – is exactly how I feel about you? When are you going to realise that whether you think you deserve it or not, I love you just as much as you love me?"

"But – "

"No buts, Remus," she said. "My heart beats for you, and I know yours beats for me, so don't you _dare_ tell me that your life's worth less than mine. Because it isn't. Not to me."

He swallowed. He wasn't certain what he should say, if there was anything he could say – and theorising that this was very much a situation where deeds rather than words were required, he drew her closer and covered her lips with his.

She gasped a little, and so did he, as the intensity of it took them both a little by surprise, and he couldn't resist winding his fingers into her hair and puling her closer, dallying a little longer to deepen the kiss, and pouring everything he had, everything he felt – love, gratitude, relief, everything, into it.

When he pulled away her eyes were sparkling, her lips parted in a coy smile, and he scuffed her cheek with his thumb. "I just couldn't bear to lose you," he said. "Not after everything."

"And I've no intention of being lost," she said. "But I couldn't bear to lose you, either – don't you know it's one's solemn duty to Apparate into a battle when one's loved one is in danger?"

He let out a small chuckle, amazed, as ever, that a woman like Tonks – so full of wonderful promise, and inventive intellect, and kindness, and bravery he couldn't help but admire – would ever want anything to do with him.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, not caring that it did nothing for the wound on his chest to have her pressed against him, and as her arms fastened around his waist, he wondered how he'd ever thought he could live without this.

He'd have gladly stayed like that forever, her in his arms under the stars, but he knew they couldn't.

The world would continue to spin out of control unless they did something to stop it, and when they had moments of calm, of still, together, he wanted them to be forever, not fleeting.

He reluctantly let her go, and she smiled up at him.

"I suppose we should get back to work," she said, rather reluctantly, but resigned to it all the same. "Where'd you send Harry?"

"Somewhere safe," Remus said. "Although I shouldn't dawdle…."

He stepped back a little, thinking that he'd very much like to dawdle with her in his arms, but that possibly the kind of thing he had in mind wasn't best suited to a dry stone wall in Hogsmeade. She smiled at him faintly. "I've got to ask," she said. "What about Snape? Why'd you let him go?"

"Severus is still on our side, I believe. As much as he ever was, anyway."

"He killed Dumbledore."

"I know," he said, and Tonks huffed. "He's not looking for forgiveness, or understanding – "

"Well I should hope not."

"But he did give me information tonight – "

"Yes, while he was _captured_," Tonks said. "You can't believe a word he said."

He hadn't been unprepared for this, for people not to believe what he believed – and he hardly wanted to tell people – especially Tonks – how he knew of Snape's true motives.

"Do you really think Hestia and Doge capable of capturing Snape?" Remus said gently. "You've been out on missions with both of them – and they don't lack talent in their fields – but really, is either of them likely to have beaten Snape in a battle of wits or magic? He _allowed_ himself to be caught because he had information to pass on. The only reason we saw him tonight after months of fruitless searching was because he wanted to be seen."

Tonks pursed her lips in thought. "Well if that's the case, it was pretty risky," she said, and he could tell that behind those dark eyes, there was some serious thought processing going on – he imagined, along the same lines as he'd thought earlier. "I mean how did he know they wouldn't have had orders to kill him on sight?"

"He didn't."

"Well to do that, he'd either have to be mad, or – "

Tonks stalled, brow furrowed, as if she was trying to find the flaw in her own argument. Remus raised an eyebrow at her, and smiled, quite relieved she'd come to the same conclusion he had. "Or have something vitally important to share that he thought was worth the risk?" Remus offered.

"Oh," Tonks said. "Shit."

"Indeed."

The furrow on Tonks' brow deepened for a moment, and then she met his eye inquiringly. "What is it?" she said. "What did he tell you?"

Remus responded without thought, because he didn't need soul-sweeping spells to tell him that Tonks could be trusted without question. "Peter's after Harry."

Tonks' eyes widened. "Peter?" she whispered, casting her eyes up and down the deserted street and leaning towards him conspiratorially anyway. "As in – Pettigrew? As in, scourge of the universe?"

"The one and same."

Her eyebrows leapt up on her forehead. "Double shit."

"Quite."

"You know," she said, regarding him with curious amusement, "that's really important. You really should have told someone that before you went off and nearly got yourself killed – I mean what would have happened if I hadn't been there and you had – you know – bought it?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "How nice to know you've got such faith in me," he said, and Tonks rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly, causing him to wince and her to glance apologetically as she caught his elbow and wrenched his injured shoulder. "But point taken."

She smiled briefly, her eyes wandering down to his chest as if she was assessing his injuries. "What are you going to tell Harry?" she said, glancing up and then continuing her survey of his shoulder, the swelling he could feel on his face, on his ribs.

"The truth of what Snape told me," Remus said, "but I'll have to lie about where the information came from."

"You're going to lie to Harry?"

Her eyes flickered up, although the look in them was surprised, rather than judgemental.

"His animosity to Snape means, I fear, that he'll disbelieve anything Snape says on principle, and this is too important," Remus said.

Tonks nodded. "Come on, then," she said. "Where are we going?"

"What? Not we, Tonks."

Tonks let out a long sigh, and dropped one hand onto her hip, peering up at him with a rather stern expression. "I thought we just talked about this?" she said.

"No, Tonks – I mean it – this is something I should do on my own."

She considered him for a moment, and then let her hand fall from her hip and hang at her side.

But he knew better than to think that meant that he'd won, and he was immediately suspicious of the smile pricking at her features, too.

He raised an eyebrow at her in question, and she couldn't quite meet his gaze. "Well you can try," she said. "But I already cast the spell to track where you Apparate to – like I did before – so even if you say no, I'll just need a minute before I can follow you."

At the defiantly cheeky look in her eyes, Remus was unable to fully battle a smile. He rubbed his jaw slowly, trying to hide his burgeoning grin behind his fingers. "You know what you are?" he said, and she grinned.

"Brilliant?" she offered.

"Pesky," he said.

"But you love me anyway?"

He stepped closer and pulled her to him, tilting her chin up to kiss her. "You know I do."

He Apparated them both to within walking distance of the cave on the hillside, looking up at the entrance, trying to see how well hidden the three of them were inside.

To their – or he suspected, Hermione's – credit, if he hadn't known they were there, it would have ranked amongst the last places he'd have thought to look.

They set off at as much of a clip as he could manage, scrambling up the hill until they were both breathless from exertion and pink in the face, even though the inky darkness made it impossible to see on either of their faces. One of the things that made this such a good hiding spot, Sirius had said, was that it was such a bloody nightmare to get to.

Once they were outside the entrance, Remus peered in, to find himself almost eye to eye with Harry Potter, who had his wand pointed firmly at his chest. "Hello, Harry," Remus said, and the wand lowered a little, but not entirely.

"Hello," Harry returned, watching Remus' eyes dart to the wand. "Sorry. I reckon some of Moody's talk about constant vigilance has sunk in."

"A security question, perhaps?" Remus said, smiling slightly at the thought.

"All right," Harry said, brightening a little at the thought, although his features looked less boyish than Remus could ever recall seeing on someone his age. Harry glanced at the ground in thought for a second. "What did you tell me last Christmas about my dad?" he said, meeting Remus' eye with a hopeful smile.

"That he never asked us to call him 'prince'," Remus said. "Or did you mean what he referred to as my furry little problem?"

"Either'll do," Harry said, and grinned.

Harry stepped aside, and Remus shuffled further into the cave, Tonks behind him.

"What's going on, Professor?" Hermione said, and Remus looked up to find her and Ron standing in the shadows behind Harry, covering the light from an already low-light fire with some kind of black powder.

Remus took in the rest of the cave. They'd already made themselves at home, with their sleeping bags – two in Gryffindor red and one in purple – nestled together in one corner, and a range of saucepans that looked recently used in the other.

Remus gestured to the floor. "I think we'd better sit down," he said, and at Ron's worried, questioning gaze, he added, "I don't believe we're in any immediate danger."

Harry nodded and sank to the ground, folding his legs underneath himself, resting his wand between his palms. Hermione and Ron followed suit, shifting closer and turning their backs on the fire, while Tonks sank against the wall at the entrance, her eyes furtively darting out into the shadows beyond the cave, keeping an eye out.

Remus sat down too, and, as he did so and the shallow light from the fire fell on him, Hermione gasped. "Professor – "

"Bloody hell," Ron said. "What happened to you?"

Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and rolled her eyes. "It's all right," Remus said. "Looks a lot worse than it is. I just got into a bit of a fight."

"With who?"

"Death Eaters," Remus said, as nonchalantly as he could when he knew there was blood caked on his shirt in an impressive streak. "I assure you I gave as good as I got."

"Better," Tonks said, meeting his eye fleetingly. "There's life in that old Marauder yet."

"Less of the old, please," Remus said, raising an eyebrow at her. Her eyes sparkled in amusement for a moment at his flirting, and he smiled, because that was exactly the look he'd hoped to see in them this evening, although this was wildly different circumstances than anything he'd imagined.

"Anyway," he said, turning back to Harry's attentive gaze, "that's why I'm here. We've come upon some information, Harry, which I felt you should be made aware of."

"Right."

Remus took a deep breath, wincing a little as that stretched and threatened to open the wound on his chest. "It's Peter, Harry," he said. "Voldemort has suspicions – has sensed that you are up to something which could be dangerous for him, and we believe Peter is going to try and stop you to curry favour. And, obviously, with the form he can take, it presents a raft of rather unique problems."

Harry's eyes widened, but before he had a chance to respond, Ron, unexpectedly, spoke.

"Oh well we can take care of that no trouble," he said.

Hermione looked at him askance and raised an eyebrow. "A bit cocky, aren't you," she said, "for someone who incinerated our dinner twenty minutes ago."

Ron blushed. "I was – distracted," he said.

"Anyway," Hermione said, "I don't think we should underestimate Pettigrew. Have you forgotten what he's capable of?"

Ron glowered, and then dug in his pockets, a look of fierce concentration on his face as he ferreted. "I know what he's capable of," Ron said, "but I've got these." He held out a handful of sweets, wrappers glinting red, gold and silver in the low firelight.

"Sweets?" Hermione said, frowning thoughtfully. "And you'd…throw them at him? Admittedly you'd have the element of surprise…."

Ron ignored her. "They're not just sweets," he said. "They're toffees."

"I think Pettigrew's mastered non-verbal spells, Ron," Hermione said, frowning as if she was pointing out the flaws in his plan with greater reluctance than ever before. "No good sticking his teeth together and hoping he won't be able to get a word out."

"But that's it," Ron said. "Don't you get it? Scabbers loved toffee – couldn't resist them. He was always ferreting them out of the sweet jar – mum used to go mad at me. And these aren't ordinary toffees."

Remus raised his eyebrows questioningly at Ron, indicating he should go on. Ron swallowed, clearly as nervous as he ever had been when Remus had asked him a question pertaining to the homework he was supposed to have done on hinkypunks. "Well, they're Ton-Tongue Toffees," he said. "I nicked – borrowed," he said, shooting a nervous glance at Tonks, who sniggered, "them – and some other stuff – from Fred and George when we left, just in case – and, well, I'd guess that if we scattered these about, Scabbers – " He frowned at the name. "I mean Peter – well, Wormtail – " He frowned deeper still, as if he really couldn't settle on a moniker and Peter was in desperate danger of becoming He Who Can Not Be Named. " – wouldn't be able to resist them – so he'd eat one, but then his tongue would grow, and he'd be incapacitated, wouldn't he, so we could deal with him. And if he's a rat, well, he wouldn't have to eat very much for it to take effect, would he?"

Hermione stared at Ron with fresh admiration that Remus couldn't help but echo, while Harry gaped a little. "You think it's stupid," Ron muttered, glancing in Harry's direction.

"Actually, Ron," Harry said, "I think that's bloody brilliant."

Ron grinned, and got to his feet, moving to the edge of the cave and scattering a handful of toffees just outside the entrance.

"Peter always had a sweet tooth," Remus said, watching as Ron came back into the fire's glow, and sat down, reaching behind him to place a row of toffees in front of the purple sleeping bag, and then a couple in front of each of the red ones.

"I've a few tricks up my sleeve that might prove useful," Remus said. "Perhaps I can show the three of you how to make your own Marauder's Maps, and then you'd always be able to see who was around, whatever form they took?"

It was Harry's turn to grin. "That would be great," he said.

"For now, though," Remus said, "it's late, and you all look like you could do with a good night's sleep. Tonks and I will keep watch if you'd like to get some rest – Molly would never forgive me if she thought I'd kept you up half the night on top of everything else."

Harry nodded. "We'll talk more in the morning," Remus said.

After a hazy good night, Harry, Hermione and Ron slipped into their sleeping bags – Hermione's revealed to be the purple one – and Remus shuffled closer to Tonks, so he could keep watch, too.

He waited until the sound of Ron's tiny muffled snores reached him, trying not to feel a pang of regret in his stomach that all three of the teenagers in front of him now slept with their wands firmly gripped in their hands, and then whispered to Tonks. "I need to send a Patronus to Moody," he said, "let him know we're all right."

"I'll do it," she whispered. "You rest there a minute, and then we'll do something about cleaning you up."

He was about to protest that he was fine, but he raised his eyes to hers to find her raising an eyebrow at him in challenge. He smiled, and relented. "What do you want me to say?" she said.

"That we're safe, Harry's safe, all went according to plan."

She nodded, pointed her wand, and immediately, on the craggy rocks in front of them, appeared a shimmering grey-blue wolf.

It still took him a little aback to actually see it, to be confronted with the evidence of what he was to her –

He closed his eyes as realisation struck.

When confronted with Snape, he'd needed evidence, hard, magical evidence of intent – but Tonks had shown him evidence of hers all along, if only he hadn't been so dense as to not know what it meant.

He'd thought it was a symptom of what he'd put her through – a vestige from a broken heart – but that wasn't it at all. It was evidence – proof – of how she saw him, as someone who'd always be there, someone in whom she could have faith to protect her.

He wanted to laugh, but instead he reached down, and brushed her fingers with his as they lay on the cold, stone floor of the cave. When she looked up in question, he leant forward, unable not to say anything when he wanted to shout his realisation from the rooftops for all of Hogsmeade to hear. "I've been an idiot," he whispered.

"No," she murmured, shaking her head more vociferously than the sleeping forms in the cave would allow her to voice. "That thing about the maps – that's a great idea. I always wondered how you made them, too – "

"Not about that. About you."

"Me?" she said, eyes wide.

"I was so concerned about keeping you safe by keeping us apart – all last year and now tonight." A crease appeared between her eyebrows, indicating that she only had half a clue what he was talking about. "I should have trusted your faith in me – because that's it, isn't it? You don't need me to keep us apart to keep you safe, you trust me to look out for you when we're together."

Tonks cocked her head and squinted at him through the darkness. "Are you only just figuring that out?" she said, and he nodded, laughed a little, quietly, at the amused disdain and disbelief on her face.

"Hmm," he murmured.

She looked away, but he could tell from the twitch in her cheek and the set of her jaw that she was battling a smile. "You know," she said, "that probably doesn't make you very bright. I'm not sure you should be leader any more – maybe we should give Mad-Eye a go."

He nudged her admonishingly with his elbow, and she turned back to him and grinned, shoving him back for his trouble. "Better late than never, though?" he offered, hopefully.

"Better late than never."

She clasped his fingers briefly in hers, and smiled at him, and then shifted and moved in front of him, murmuring that they should get him cleaned up. Peeling his shirt back from the wound on his chest, she winced in sympathy as she looked at it. "You could have faked this," she said, "there are lots of spells – "

"We're not gifted actors, Tonks," he said. "The pain on moving needed to be consistent and – real. There really wasn't anything else for it."

She tutted, but met his eye and smiled, and then he felt the familiar warm prickle of a healing spell on his skin, and looked down to see the already closed wound heal completely, bathed in a faint orange glow. She moved wordlessly between his injuries, taking the swelling out of his bruises, healing his cuts, and he loved to watch her – the way her nose wrinkled up in concentration, her eyes fixed and focused on the task in hand.

He'd always thought she was sexy when she was concentrating. He felt it had rather been his downfall to be paired with her so often when concentration was required.

He let his eyes drift back across the cave, to where Harry and his friends slept, wondering if this would be the first night in months they'd snatched more than a few hours.

"I wish it wasn't like this," he whispered, and Tonks sank to her knees in front of him, and followed his gaze.

"They're all right," she said. "They've got each other, and they're doing ok, aren't they?"

"Is that enough?" he said. "Being together and barely keeping each other's heads above water?"

She took his face in her hands and brought it back to hers. "Sometimes," she said, offering him a half-smile that very much told him they weren't just talking about Harry any more, "it's very much more than enough. It's everything."

As she leant in to kiss him, her fingers working over the place where formerly there had been a bruise, he thought about all the things that were necessary in a time of war: personal sacrifice for the greater good; the pushing aside of feelings that had been deeply entrenched; the forming of unlikely and untrusted alliances.

But most of all, he thought, _this_ was necessary: love, and perhaps a little faith in people.

He smiled at the thought that Dumbledore had been right all along.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews for this story. Reviewers of this final instalment get a fire lit cave and a couple of sleeping bags to share with a HP character of their choice. Zipping them together to make one big one and snuggling up is optional ;). **


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